The District of Columbia (DC) is 52.8% female, 54% African American, and 40.6% Caucasian. Of Washington's approximately 600,000 residents, 101,400 (or 16.9%) live below the poverty line (U.S. Census, 2009). Over the years, the poverty rate in DC has continued to rise. With this number growing, there is a profound need to know more about the women affected. That said, it's important to learn more about the sexual and reproductive health of low-income women. In the District of Columbia, many women live below the poverty line and therefore cannot get the help they need regarding their sexual and reproductive health. As researchers, we need to investigate why this happens and what can be done to fix it. Through this research paper, there will be a strong focus on low-income women, their rates, and the barriers they may face regarding human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency (HIV/AIDS), sexually transmitted diseases ( STD), breast cancer and cervical cancer. As of December 31, 2008, there were 16,513 Washington residents living with HIV/AIDS. Of the residents, 75.6% were African American. This high number becomes even more devastating when you consider that one in 21 African Americans in DC has HIV/AIDS and African American women are 17 times more likely to contract HIV/AIDS than a Caucasian woman (DC Department of Health, 2009). Studying HIV/AIDS testing rates, Medina (2009) found that the majority of study participants were self-motivated to get tested. After the initial test, participants were slightly more likely to reduce risky sexual behaviors. However, the study also found that the test was not a method that could be used to support consistent care… middle of paper…) established free of charge and easy to access for low-income women. Even when the test was free and easy to access, many women still did not participate. Additionally, they found that lower mammography use is associated with low-income women, as 36.4% to 54% of low-income women surveyed had never had a mammogram. The above studies have identified three main points that will be used in the remainder of this research article. First, DC presents a high number of reproductive diseases among low-income women that need to be addressed. Second, it is imperative to address the income barrier, as many studies show that income and insurance are important predictors of sexual health testing and treatment. Finally, minority women are more likely to have reproductive diseases and are also less likely to be diagnosed in a timely manner and therefore treated appropriately..